Most US women face stroke risk

Chinese researchers have taken a step towards removing a protein from prawns that cause an allergic response, without resorting to genetic manipulation. Li Zhenxing led the research at the Ocean University of China.The team revealed that treating prawns with a combination of heat and irradiation significantly reduced the level of reactive proteins called allergens. They took blood from patients with shrimp allergies, added samples of treated and untreated prawn, and measured how antiboides in the blood reacted. They found that levels of "Pen a 1" , one of the major allergens, decreased 20-fold after treatment.Zhenxing's team suggests that irradiation damages the proteins, revealing hidden reactive amino acid residues. Subsequent heating then destroyes the exposed residues. "Radiation and heat seems to be a promising method for reducing the immunoreactivity" said the researchers.

Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or stroke and should be more aggressive about lowering their risk-including asking their doctors about daily aspirin use,the American Heart Association said on Monday in new guidelines. It is the first time guidelines have urged all women to consider aspirin for preventing strokes, although specialists warn that it can cause ulcers and dangerous bleeding.They said it is probably not a good idea for young women with no big health problems."We do not want women to go to the drugstore and just start taking this themselves. It is critical that every woman talk to her doctor."Said Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital and chair of the expert panel that wrote the guidelines.